My First Look at the CJ's

[Wayne Kerr]

Brian Wolfe.

See you at the races,
Wayne Kerr

[Steve Calabro]

NASCAR, Ford keep on trucking
Sunday, March 15, 2009
BY MIKE HARRIS
NorthJersey.com
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Brian Wolfe has learned to live with less and, hopefully, make it work.

The director of Ford's North American motorsports program since the middle of 2008 came from the company's power train unit, where he says budget and personnel cuts were a way of life long before the economy began crashing down around everyone's heads.

"There's no easy jobs at the OEMs [original equipment manufacturers]," Wolfe told The Associated Press. "I've been at Ford for 27 years now in a variety of leadership positions and you learn to focus on what's really critical to be successful.

"And being successful means I have to have a winning platform and championship-capable teams and I have to be improving the favorable opinion of Ford to drive showroom traffic and sell some vehicles," he added. "That's what is important to us."

Like his competitors at General Motors, Chrysler and Toyota, all of whom compete against Ford in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series, Wolfe has had to be creative this year.

The Ford Racing budgets were cut by more than 30 percent across the board and Wolfe's staff was reduced before the season by 10 percent.

That has forced Wolfe and Ford to make some hard choices.

"In NASCAR, it made us focus on Cup and Cup exclusively," Wolfe said. "In the truck series and the Nationwide series, we backed away from a lot of our, if not all of our financial backing, although we're still offering technical assistance to insure the cars perform as well as they can on the track, and a contingency program where we reward some people for that."

Unlike GM and Chrysler, its traditional competitors from Detroit, Ford has not had to ask the government for financial help. Wolfe credits Ford CEO Alan Mulally for keeping the company and the motorsports program viable by coming up with a conservative approach over the past several years to future sales and the amount of money to be spent on marketing, which includes motorsports.

When the bottom fell out last year, Ford was prepared.

"It wasn't like it was unforeseen and we had to tear up our plan and start over," Wolfe said.

"That's why we were putting our focus in NASCAR on the Cup Series and [why] we're staying in the NHRA, primarily focused on the Funny Cars and the sportsman racers who work with us so well and do so much for us."

NASCAR is Ford Racing's biggest stage.

"I couldn't be happier with the performance of our teams this year," Wolfe said.

"We don't have as many teams [as other manufacturers], but I've learned long ago it's the quality of the teams you have and the qualify of the guys you've got working for you that make a big difference.

"Right before I came to the motorsports job, I had between 800 and 900 people working for me in power train. Sometimes, you're a lot better off with a smaller, highly talented crew than an average group. I think I've got the best concentration of talent within Cup."

Wolfe said a key for Ford's NASCAR Cup program is that all three of its teams — Roush Fenway Racing, Yates Racing and part-time competitor Wood Brothers Racing — use engines built by the Roush-Yates alliance.

"Instead of each team, like with some of the other OEMs that have three or four teams developing a Chevy engine or Dodge or whatever, we've got all that engine development focused in one shop," Wolfe explained.

"So we don't have two different people learning the same thing independently. That basically costs teams twice as much money to do that.

"So that focus of all that effort working with Doug Yates and Roush Yates engines has given us, I think, a significant advantage. I can assure you I'm not lacking for power and I'm not lacking for fuel economy on the engine side."

Heading into the first idle weekend of the season, things look pretty good for Ford on track. Roush Fenway's Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle are in the top 10 in points.

And, while there is the possibility that at least one of Ford's biggest competitors could face bankruptcy or even go out of business this year, Wolfe isn't wishing anyone ill.

Page 1 2 >>
Brian Wolfe has learned to live with less and, hopefully, make it work.


ASSOCIATED PRESS
NASCAR money leader Matt Kenseth has allowed Ford's motorsports division to present a winning platform this year. The director of Ford's North American motorsports program since the middle of 2008 came from the company's power train unit, where he says budget and personnel cuts were a way of life long before the economy began crashing down around everyone's heads.

"There's no easy jobs at the OEMs [original equipment manufacturers]," Wolfe told The Associated Press. "I've been at Ford for 27 years now in a variety of leadership positions and you learn to focus on what's really critical to be successful.

"And being successful means I have to have a winning platform and championship-capable teams and I have to be improving the favorable opinion of Ford to drive showroom traffic and sell some vehicles," he added. "That's what is important to us."

Like his competitors at General Motors, Chrysler and Toyota, all of whom compete against Ford in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series, Wolfe has had to be creative this year.

The Ford Racing budgets were cut by more than 30 percent across the board and Wolfe's staff was reduced before the season by 10 percent.

That has forced Wolfe and Ford to make some hard choices.

"In NASCAR, it made us focus on Cup and Cup exclusively," Wolfe said. "In the truck series and the Nationwide series, we backed away from a lot of our, if not all of our financial backing, although we're still offering technical assistance to insure the cars perform as well as they can on the track, and a contingency program where we reward some people for that."

Unlike GM and Chrysler, its traditional competitors from Detroit, Ford has not had to ask the government for financial help. Wolfe credits Ford CEO Alan Mulally for keeping the company and the motorsports program viable by coming up with a conservative approach over the past several years to future sales and the amount of money to be spent on marketing, which includes motorsports.

When the bottom fell out last year, Ford was prepared.

"It wasn't like it was unforeseen and we had to tear up our plan and start over," Wolfe said.

"That's why we were putting our focus in NASCAR on the Cup Series and [why] we're staying in the NHRA, primarily focused on the Funny Cars and the sportsman racers who work with us so well and do so much for us."

NASCAR is Ford Racing's biggest stage.

"I couldn't be happier with the performance of our teams this year," Wolfe said.

"We don't have as many teams [as other manufacturers], but I've learned long ago it's the quality of the teams you have and the qualify of the guys you've got working for you that make a big difference.

"Right before I came to the motorsports job, I had between 800 and 900 people working for me in power train. Sometimes, you're a lot better off with a smaller, highly talented crew than an average group. I think I've got the best concentration of talent within Cup."

Wolfe said a key for Ford's NASCAR Cup program is that all three of its teams — Roush Fenway Racing, Yates Racing and part-time competitor Wood Brothers Racing — use engines built by the Roush-Yates alliance.

"Instead of each team, like with some of the other OEMs that have three or four teams developing a Chevy engine or Dodge or whatever, we've got all that engine development focused in one shop," Wolfe explained.

"So we don't have two different people learning the same thing independently. That basically costs teams twice as much money to do that.

"So that focus of all that effort working with Doug Yates and Roush Yates engines has given us, I think, a significant advantage. I can assure you I'm not lacking for power and I'm not lacking for fuel economy on the engine side."

[69Cobra]

Here's a nice start on a S/S CJ.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...3AIT&viewitem=

[Jeff Lee]

Originally Posted by 69Cobra

Here's a nice start on a S/S CJ.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...3AIT&viewitem=

Of course all of the aluminum tinwork will need to be replaced. But it does look like a bargain in the works!

[qwiked]

"That's why we were putting our focus in NASCAR on the Cup Series and [why] we're staying in the NHRA, primarily focused on the Funny Cars and the sportsman racers who work with us so well and do so much for us."


Brian Wolfe -- Ford's motorsports director makes good sense with the exception of Funny Car support--How John Force racing has any impact on sales is beyond me--